WHEREAS the Government of Alberta is
committed to taking action to enhance Alberta’s role as a global leader in
addressing climate change and as one of the world’s most progressive energy‑producing
jurisdictions;

WHEREAS the Government of Alberta
is committed to limiting oil sands greenhouse gas emissions;

WHEREAS the Government of Alberta
is committed to creating the conditions for the oil sands sector to innovate
and become more globally competitive; and

WHEREAS the Government of Alberta
is committed to establishing a limit on oil sands greenhouse gas emissions that
provides room for growth and development of our resource as a basis of a strong
economy by applying technology to reduce our carbon output per barrel;

THEREFORE
HER MAJESTY, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of
Alberta, enacts as follows:

Definitions

1 In this Act,

(a) “CO2e”
means the 100‑year time horizon global warming potential of a greenhouse
gas, expressed in terms of equivalency to CO2;

(b) “cogeneration”
means the simultaneous generation of electric energy and production of thermal
energy from the same fuel source;

(c) “cogeneration
emissions” means greenhouse gas emissions that are attributable to the energy
generated or produced by cogeneration;

(f) “greenhouse
gas” means a specified gas that is prescribed as a gas to which this Act
applies;

(g) “greenhouse
gas emissions” means all greenhouse gases, expressed in tonnes on a CO2e
basis, that are released from sources located at an oil sands site, including
greenhouse gases sent off site;

(h) “oil
sands site” means an oil sands site as defined in the Oil Sands Conservation
Act, including all the buildings, equipment, structures, machinery and
vehicles that are integral to the operation of the oil sands site;

(i) “prescribed”
means prescribed or otherwise provided for by the regulations;

(j) “primary
production” means primary production as defined in the regulations;

(l) “upgrading
emissions” means greenhouse gas emissions that are attributable to the
production, at an upgrader, of synthetic crude oil or a comparable fully
upgraded product prescribed by the regulations.

Oil sands greenhouse gas emissions
limit

2(1) Subject
to subsection (2), the greenhouse gas emissions limit for all oil sands sites
combined is 100 megatonnes in any year.

(2) In determining the greenhouse gas emissions for
all oil sands sites combined in a year for the purposes of subsection (1), the
following greenhouse gas emissions are excluded:

(a) cogeneration
emissions attributable to the electric energy portion of the total energy
generated or produced by cogeneration, as determined in accordance with the
regulations;

(b) upgrading
emissions

(i) attributable
to upgraders that complete their first year of commercial operation after
December 31, 2015, or

(ii) attributable
to the increased capacity resulting from the expansion, after December 31,
2015, of upgraders that completed their first year of commercial operation on
or before December 31, 2015,

as
determined in accordance with the regulations, to a combined maximum of 10
megatonnes in any year;

(c) greenhouse
gas emissions from any prescribed experimental scheme or any experimental scheme
within a prescribed class of experimental scheme;

(d) greenhouse
gas emissions from any prescribed primary production or any primary production
within a prescribed class of primary production;

(e) greenhouse
gas emissions from any prescribed enhanced recovery or any enhanced recovery
within a prescribed class of enhanced recovery.

Regulations

3 Without
limiting the authority of the Lieutenant Governor in Council to make
regulations in respect of this Act under the Climate Change and Emissions
Management Act, the Lieutenant Governor in Council may make regulations

(g) prescribing
experimental schemes, primary production and enhanced recovery and classes of
experimental schemes, primary production and enhanced recovery for the purposes
of section 2(2)(c), (d) and (e);

(h) establishing
and governing mechanisms to keep greenhouse gas emissions from oil sands sites within
the limit established by section 2(1), including, without limitation,
regulations

(ii) establishing
a system of greenhouse gas emission allowances and governing the purchase,
auction, trading or retirement of greenhouse gas emission allowances or any
other matter related to a system of greenhouse gas emission allowances.

Integration
with Climate Change and Emissions Management Act

4 This Act shall be construed as forming
part of the Climate Change and Emissions Management Act,and the Climate
Change and Emissions Management Act shall be construed accordingly.